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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. object — to protest
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. object — a thing
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wake — a trail
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. snap — to click
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bat — the animal
  24. object — an aim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com